Children from Harrogate and Nepal set to perform together

A musical concert will bring children from Harrogate and Nepal together

600 children from Harrogate and Nepal will perform a concert together.

It'll take place at The Royal Hall, Harrogate next month.

The young musicians will perform music composed themselves.

Children from Harrogate will be welcoming youngsters from Nepal into both their homes and classrooms next month as part of a international music concert.

Organised by the Harrogate Brigantes Rotary Club, young musicians from the UK and South Asia have composed material for the concert, called Monkey Boy which form part of the Kids Aloud biennial charity concerts.

600 children, from 7 to 17-years-old, will perform to a packed audience of the Royal Hall, Harrogate in an unforgettable experience.

In addition, the event will help raise money for international causes.

"We have spent a month with them moving them around the country - between Kathmandu and Panchamul Valley - so they can get used to traveling.

"They've never traveled that distance before and haven't been away from their families for any length of time. We've been teaching them some Western skills too - like using a knife and fork because, in the valley, they use rice bowls and chapatis to eat."

Harrogate Brigantes and its project partners have raised approximately £75,000 to fund thecreation and performances of Monkey Boy and a visit to the UK by a 40-strong choir of Nepali school children and 13 of their teachers.

Half the choir is coming from a school in the capital Kathmandu and half from a school in the remote Panchamul Valley.

The young Nepalis will be in the UK for just over a fortnight - landing in the UK on 16 March 2019.

A full programme of activities and visits has been planned, including a service of welcome in Ripon Cathedral, a visit to the seaside at Scarborough (Nepal being a land-locked country none of the visiting children have ever seen the sea), and trips to the wonderful Yorkshire countryside and some of its many museums and places of interest.

The aim of the visit is to give them a truly unforgettable experience.

Andy added:

"We have been almost overwhelmed by the generous offers of help and support from both individuals and businesses which are all coming together to make the visit to Britain a unique and potentially life-changing one for these children from Nepal.

"Only in one area are we not yet up to the mark, finding families to accommodate for the choir. Our partners in Nepal have stressed to us how wonderful it would be if all the children could stay with local families during their visit. They believe that they would learn so much of value from the experience.

"But so far we have only been able to place about half of the children with local families. The others will be very well accommodated at the scout hut at Thornthwaite but, of course, that's nowhere near as beneficial as staying with a local family.

"We are therefore asking for help. If you are able to provide accommodation for two children (one at least of whom will speak English) during their two weeks in Harrogate please, please let us know. We do so want them all to experience the true warmth of Yorkshire hospitality."

If you could help or know of anyone who might, please contact Rotarian Diane Stokes on 01423 548086 or message her on
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. She will be able to answer all your questions.

The concerts will take place at The Royal Hall, Harrogate on the 29th and 30th March at 7pm.

Tickets for the event, price £12 adult, £8 children, are now on sale from the Harrogate Theatre Box Office: 01423 502116 or visit the website.